Comparison of Composite International Diagnostic Interview and clinical DSM‐III‐R criteria checklist diagnoses

This article describes a comparison of Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI) diagnostic results and results based on clinicians’ observation of CIDI assessments. Psychiatrists scored a DSM‐III‐R criteria checklist either while observing or after administering 20 CIDI interviews. Overall diagnostic concordance between the checklist and CIDI diagnoses was found to be good (kappa = 0.78). Good diagnostic agreement was also found for 3 groups of DSM‐III‐R disorders: depressive disorders (kappa = 0.84), psychoactive substance use disorders (kappa = 0.83) and anxiety phobic disorders (kappa = 0.76). These results are consistent with the results from a similar comparison between the CIDI and checklist results for ICD‐10 diagnoses.